Molecular Plant Breeding 2024, Vol.15, No.2, 52-62 http://genbreedpublisher.com/index.php/mpb 53 By exploring the application of GWAS in improving crop stress resistance traits, we can clearly see the potential of this strategy in understanding crop genetic diversity, accelerating crop breeding cycles, and developing new varieties that can adapt to changing environments. Future research needs to further explore and optimize GWAS methods to overcome challenges such as large data volumes and high computational costs, while improving the accuracy and applicability of GWAS results. This will help improve crop productivity and sustainability globally, especially in the face of climate change and increased food demand. 2 Basic Concepts of Crop Stress Resistance Traits 2.1 Define stress resistance traits of crops In contemporary agriculture, the study of crop stress resistance traits is particularly important. These traits enable crops to maintain growth and yield in the face of various biotic and abiotic stresses. With the intensification of global climate change and environmental pressure, it has become particularly urgent to study and improve crop stress resistance traits. The stress resistance traits of crops can be mainly divided into two categories: biotic stress resistance and abiotic stress resistance. Biological stress resistance includes the resistance to biological pressures such as pathogens and insect pests, while abiotic stress resistance covers the tolerance to environmental stresses such as drought, salinity, cold, and heat stress (Brandes et al., 2020). The basis of these traits is the complex physiological and molecular mechanisms formed by plants in order to adapt to changing environments during the long evolutionary process. In response to these stresses, crops exhibit stress resistance mechanisms that include, but are not limited to, regulating growth patterns, stimulating immune responses, enhancing antioxidant systems, adjusting osmotic pressure balance, and initiating processes to repair damaged tissues. In addition, the interaction between plants and their microbial symbionts also plays an important role in improving stress resistance. For example, certain plant bacteria can help crop growth under salt stress conditions. Systematically improving stress-resistant traits in crops requires not only understanding the fundamentals of these complex mechanisms, but also transferring knowledge gained from model plants to crops and applying this knowledge through modern plant breeding techniques. This requires closer collaboration between researchers, breeders and policymakers to achieve effective translation and application of knowledge. Regarding future research directions, considering the changing climate and environmental pressure, it is necessary to continue to explore the deep-seated mechanisms of crop stress resistance traits, and at the same time, we must also focus on interdisciplinary and multi-angle research methods to comprehensively improve the stress resistance of crops, ensuring the sustainable development of agricultural production (Thomas and Hückelhoven, 2018). 2.2 Classification of stress resistance traits As global climate changes and population grows, developing crop varieties with strong stress-resistant traits becomes increasingly important. Through the comprehensive application of traditional breeding technology and modern biotechnology, such as gene editing and transgenic technology, we are expected to improve the stress resistance traits of crops to ensure food security and sustainable agricultural development. However, this process requires interdisciplinary collaboration, including the combined efforts of genetics, biotechnology, ecology and agricultural sciences. Drought resistance refers to the ability of a crop to maintain growth, development and yield under drought conditions. Improving drought-resistant traits often involves enhancing a plant's water use efficiency, root depth, and leaf transpiration efficiency. For example, through gene editing technology, scientists have successfully improved the root growth of certain crop varieties so that they can more effectively absorb water from deep soil, thus increasing their drought resistance. Salt tolerance refers to the ability of plants to maintain their growth and development under salt stress conditions. Crops' tolerance to salt can be improved by adjusting salt absorption by roots, increasing salt distribution in the body, and enhancing the balance of salt inside and outside cells. Examples include genetically modified tomatoes
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